Govt. to establish a regulatory body for LPG

The Government on Tuesday said plans are underway to establish a Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) regulatory body, following the recent fires and explosions reported on domestic, commercial and sales outlets countrywide.

“The recent events are unusual, there are no incidents recorded on explosion of cylinders and there was no mechanism to assure quality of LPG. However, the Government has already taken measures to probe into these incidents, whilst fast tracking the establishment of a regulatory body,” Cabinet Co-Spokesman Dullas Alahapperuma said at the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing.

As stated by State Minister of Consumer Protection Lasantha Alagiyawanna, 233 accidents related to gas were reported from 2015 to September 2021, with an average incident of 35-40 per year and three to four per month. Despite Sri Lanka’s Colombo Gas Company being set up in 1960, there had been no single regulatory office for the sector.

“It is a shame that we have not been able to establish a regulatory body for LPG for decades. However, these incidents have led the authorities to draw the attention to fast-track the implementation of a regulatory body and supported directives to minimise such future incidents,” Alahapperuma said.

He also pointed out that the Government, in September, advertised to gather initial information to setup a regulatory body and this will help to fast-track the implementation of it. 

“Given the situation, even my wife is scared to operate the cooker, and it is definitely the case in most households today. It is not a laughing matter, we need quick action to address the situation,” Alahapperuma said.